The Night Before You
by Danica Napier
Summary: Because when you're the Joker's sister, who's falling in love with the Dark Knight himself, you know you'll need a miracle to save yourself. Bruce Wayne/OC, Joker/OC, NO SLASH. Set sometime after TDK


**Hi! To all of the people who have added this story onto their favorites and their story alerts, thank you! However, I feel like I needed to improve on this story, and maybe change it up a little. I have changed Irene Wayne to Luna Wayne, and Morrigan will have already been in Gotham, and she still contacts her brother. This story, and the old version, was never meant to be completely lighthearted, so if that is the story you are looking for, I'm afraid that you won't find it here. Thank you again, and I hope you like the new and (hopefully) improved version of this story! **

Do you know what it's like to drown?

I'm not asking that question literally. Of course not. But do you know what it's like to feel so overwhelmed, that you feel like you're drowning? That you're being pulled to the bottom of a dark lake, but then, somehow, by a miracle, you're pulled above the waves. Of course, the miracle part only happens to the blessed. I'm not part of that group.

I'm drowning. Very, very slowly. You would think my life was good, though. I was twenty eight, I graduated from Gotham University with a business degree a few years ago, and I have just gotten a new job at Wayne Enterprises as Head of Shipping. My life seemed great, didn't it?

But my life is the complete opposite, because I have secrets. Secrets that no one can know otherwise I'd be taken by police or be arrested. But the secret that makes the other secrets secret is that my brother is Jack Napier. It may not seem significant, except for the fact that he "killed" our parents, but Jack Napier is the Joker. That is what nobody else knows besides me.

If someone else were in my position, I'd wish them all the luck in the world, because I might just be the only one who can handle him. I admit that my brother is crazy, and I admit that he is insane, but he's the only family I have left, and I won't get him arrested. That would be the death of me if I was involved in the end of my brother's life. He may not be dead, but he was a free spirit, not to be locked away. It would destroy his mind even more.

Don't get me wrong, though. I did love Jack, and I still do. But he was the Joker, and I was Morrigan Napier, mass murdering clown and average worker. Brother and sister. Born of the same blood but from two completely different worlds. He may be insane, but he's my insane brother. The word brother makes a difference if its after insane.

I suppose we looked alike. Kind of. Our noses were the same, and our tanned-white skin complexion was the same, though obviously people couldn't see his skin because of the makeup and the gloves he wore. We had the same golden blonde hair, until he dyed it green. And the last thing that we had in common, physically, was our eyes. They were both black as night.

"Hey lady! Watch it!" I blinked and quickly backed away from the taxi.

"Sorry," I tried weakly, but it came out as a croaking noise. The driver merely barked some rather rude words at me and drove away.

"Are you okay, dearie?" an elderly woman asked kindly. "My, you look like you've seen a ghost!" She looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled. "Thank you, though. For asking, I mean."

"You're welcome," she said, smiling warmly. "Have a good day."

"Yeah, uh, you too," I said, giving a small, awkward smile before turning and running across the street.

My cheeks burned with embarrassment, but thankfully it was cold out, and it looked like I was cold instead of blushing. And it really helped that nobody was around. I thought it was a shame though, because this was a nice little park in the middle of the city. Well, it was the citizens' loss and my gain. This was where I sat and thought about anything and everything before I had to go to work.

As I sat down on one of the park benches, I remembered the old woman from five minutes ago. She reminded me of my grandmother. She was dead now, of course. She had been in the house when _it _happened. Jack had been about seventeen years old, turning eighteen in a few months, and I had been fifteen years old.

My phone rang just when I was about to relive the memories of our childhood. I opened my purse and quickly answered my phone.

"Hello?" I asked, not recognizing the phone number.

"Helloooooo," a voice drawled, and I knew exactly who it was.

"Hi Jack," I said, sighing. When I heard nothing from him, I remembered. "Mr. J."

"You fi-na-lly remembered, Morri," he giggled, and I felt uneasy.

"What do you want, Jack?" I asked, slightly anxious. I hadn't spoken to him in a month, and last time we talked, he wanted me to try to hack a computer that he stole from Foxteca.

"You sound nervous, Morri," he observed amusedly, and I tensed. He always knew what I was feeling, and I felt extremely vulnerable when I talked to him. And I hated feeling vulnerable.

"You want something, Jack," I said seriously.

"You sound like you wanna get down to business," the Joker said, and I knew what was coming. "You sound so serious. And like I say, Morri, why so serious?" He laughed crazily and I closed my eyes, trying to calm my nerves. "Anyway, how is the new Head of Shipping? Hopefully she is _jus-t _fineeee."

"Let me guess," I sighed. "You want to know what's being shipped so you can steal it for your own personal use."

"Morri, sister, you make me so sound so mean-ah!" He laughed again, and I ground my teeth together. He was starting to get on my nerves. "I simply want to know how my favorite sisterrr is doing-ah."

"Look, I have to go now," I said, looking down at my watch. "I'll call you later, and it's a no."

"A no for what, Morri?" he asked innocently, and I sighed again.

"No for giving you private information on the shipments in Wayne Shipping. And that's final," I said with a tone of finality before hanging up.

I put my phone in my purse, got off the bench, and raced through the small park and down the street before I finally saw Wayne Enterprises looming in front of me. I breathed in and out for a minute, catching my breath, before pushing open the door and walking inside to start my first day of my new job.

I walked over to the secretary and smiled politely. She looked up at me. "Hello," she said, peering at me above the edge of her glasses. "May I help you?"

"Uh, well, my name is Morrigan Napier, and this is my first day as the Head of Wayne Shipping, so-" I stopped when she handed me a folder with my name on it.

"Go up to your office on the twenty-fifth floor and get situated. At ten o'clock sharp, Mr. Wayne would like to meet you in his office at the top floor," the secretary said. "Have a good first day."

"Thank you," I said, and I walked into the elevator. From the elevator, I had a clear view of Gotham, and it only got better as I went higher up. Gotham City was really beautiful in the day, but Gotham at night, well, that's when things got ugly. With the mobs, the criminals, and then the vigilante, Batman, it's a wonder people still live here. If I were them, I'd take my kids and move to a much safer place. But maybe it was the excitement and pride of living in a city with a vigilante watching over it that kept them here. Crazies.

The elevator stopped at the twenty-fifth floor, and I walked past cubicles before seeing my office. My heart swelled with pride when I saw my door with my name and title on it. I felt important. I wonder if Jack felt proud when he saw his name on the news. Though of course, he felt proud when he got any kind of recognition, no matter how bad it was.

I opened the door and closed it behind me and let out a sigh as I set my purse down on a chair. I had a few chairs in my office, one behind my desk, and three around a small table in the corner. However, I was amazed by the size of my office. It was bigger than my bedroom in my apartment. Then again, I've had my apartment since I moved out of my uncle's house and went to Gotham University. Even though this job would earn me more than enough money to get a nicer apartment, I guess it was more important to save it, just in case.

I looked over at the clock on the wall, and I jumped when I saw that it was nearly ten. "Shoot!"

In the process of rushing, I forgot to grab my purse, and I tried walking fast to get to the elevator. I managed to get in before the doors closed on me. The elevator was full. I looked at the buttons and I saw that everyone was going up, and I pushed the button to the fortieth floor.

Slowly, people started filing out as the elevator went higher up in the Wayne Enterprises building. The spectacular view that the elevator had amazed me. It made me believe that Gotham was just a normal city with no criminals like the Joker or the Scarecrow or Two-Face.

Finally, the elevator stopped at the fortieth floor, and I found myself in a spacious, luxurious area. It was almost like I was walking through a penthouse until I saw an office and a dark-haired man sitting at a big desk.

I took a deep breath before knocking softly on the glass door. The man looked up and I found myself gazing into beautiful chocolate brown eyes. I blushed when I realized that he had already gestured for me to come in.

"And I assume you are Miss Napier?" He quickly looked over me before meeting my eyes again.

"You can call me Morrigan. And you are Mr. Wayne, right?" I asked, smirking slightly at him. I've heard a lot about Bruce Wayne, especially from squealing girls who think he's hot, which I won't deny, because I may find him kind of/sort of hot as well, but he was my boss, and it would be completely unprofessional.

"Correct, Morrigan," he said, smiling flirtatiously at me. It took everything I had to not roll my eyes. "Sit down, please. Make yourself comfortable."

I sat down on the chair directly in front of his desk, and he took his seat.

"Mr. Wayne, is Mr. Fox still working here?" I asked curiously, remembering that Jack had stolen a computer from Lucius Fox's son's company, Foxteca.

"Only until I can find someone to replace him," Mr. Wayne replied. "Now, tell me something about yourself, Morrigan."

I smiled mischievously at him, and responded, "What would you like to know?"

"How about-" he began slowly with a smirk on his face until he looked out the window. His jaw dropped.

I stood up and walked over to the window and mine did too, for right outside the window in blood red letters was "Why so serious?"

**So, what do you think? If you're wondering about when this takes place, I'd say after TDK, and the Joker has already escaped from Arkham. And if you're wondering what happened to the Napiers when Morri was fifteen, you'll find out soon enough. Well, you already know that the Joker (Jack) was accused of killing their parents, but you'll find out what really happens. Please review! **


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